UK Boys' names: 6 choices, 6 dilemmas, 6 moments of "I can't decide.". HELP! :-)

[ThatLilacExpert]

George is* *a solid name, which you can't go wrong with, but there will be quite a few around, maybe a LOT around.
Julian sounds nice, but it strikes me as a feminine name, right? Maybe it is not so common in British schools or in general.
I also like Nicholas and Thomas as they're both classics, but maybe they are so overused in the UK? Someone told me not to use Nicholas because he will be bullied at school (Nicholas - knickerless) - I found it so pathetic. :)
Eric sounds strong and bold to me, Eric has "c", but someone told me it reminds them of a cartoon name, but who cares? The advantage is that it carries no nickname.
Luke sounds like modern to me, but maybe it is not that great as a name? or maybe a bit childish?
GOSH, it has been so hard to find a name for our baby boy. 6 choices, 6 dilemmas, 6 moments of "I can't decide.". Your insights and justifications for a name are highly appreciated. :-) 🙏

They are all fine, sensible names.
I like Thomas and Luke best.

You are over worrying.

London area here!
George is nice but with Georgia’s, Georgie’s Georgina’s etc who often have George as a nickname maybe a bit popular.
Julian is rare but I’m personally not a fan of, would likely to shortened to Joules, do you like this?
Never known a Nicholas to be bullied personally, I think Nicholas and Thomas are quite underused atm, I work with children 0-18 and don’t come across that many.
Eric is a really solid and nice name, kinda hits the sweet spot, not too common and not too rare.
Luke is similar though there are a lot of Luca’s Lucas’ etc about x

Julian is a bit dated imo. So are Luke and Nicholas to lesser extent if it bothers you. I do like Nicholas though and never heard anyone bullied- not heard that at all before! I like George although you’re right there may be a few on the other hand there’s none in my daughters y1 school year. Thomas is a bit bland to me but no particular issues with it. I love Eric. That would be my pick.

Are you OK OP? Are you feeling anxious and maybe putting it on the baby's name? This is your fifth thread on baby names in a month, and third in the last 3 days with slightly different sets of names. I don't feel at this point other people's opinions on the names are helping, maybe just confusing you more? All the names you've posted are solid normal names, go with a few to the hospital and pick based on what they look like at this point I think. The names that appear on most of your threads are George and Eric so I would narrow down to those.

If you are feeling anxious definitely talk to your midwives who should be able to help you. Pregnancy is a lot of changes so can be a tough time, look after yourself. Hopefully this is just excitement though!

George, Thomas and Luke are my favourites. Thomas and Luke are less commonly used at the moment, so I’d pick one of those.

They're all fine names.

Luke is my favourite.

Not sure how Luke can sound "like modern," given the Gospel According to Luke has been around for a while!

I love George, Thomas, Nicholas and Eric. Luke is nice too.

Only one I dislike is Julian.

@AmiablePedant Your comment was the best! It made me laugh, but it makes total sense. 😂

Eric is lovely.

@GreyhoundGal1 I really appreciate your comment. I've been feeling rather stressed with a lot of things. Also, for every single name I suggest to my partner, I get the same response: "Yeah, I like it. It’s nice. Oh I like this name too, etc" He doesn’t seem to have a definite opinion on names, which makes it feel like the final decision will fall on me. That said, pregnancy can be overwhelming as it approaches the day, so I’ll make sure to discuss this with my midwives too.
I’ve decided to pick three names from these lists, take them to the hospital, and make the final choice on the day. Such a great idea—thank you! X

I like Luke and Thomas

Don't go for George... it's insanely overused.
All the rest are lovely. Julian is classic but not commonly used. And Nicholas is just lovely. Especially with nick name Nicky.

George - rather dull.
Julian - yes, effeminate,
Nicholas - ditto
Thomas -ok
Eric - no
Luke - love it. I have one aged 19.

I have a Nicholas. He’s 2 and he’s the only kid called Nicholas in his nursery/ his sisters school. So I think it’s quite underused. As long as you don’t mind the nickname Nick or Nicky

It's so hard when you're not getting the support you need. Probably thinks he's being nice but is actually being unhelpful 😂 objectively you can't go wrong with any of these, it's all just a matter of different tastes. I know it feels like a big decision, but you'll love the name because it's them whatever you choose. My daughter's name isn't one I'd personally have picked alone but a compromise with my husband, but I love it now and couldn't imagine her as anything else. I'm so glad I could help and please come back after he's born to let us know what you picked x

Lots of George’s at our nursery! Very 2024

I think Eric sounds freshest. Nick is very Gen X to my ears, Luke is millennial and Julian is boomer

All usable and nice though, I’d say

This is 29 Acacia Road.
And this is Eric, the schoolboy who leads an exciting double-life.
For when Eric eats a banana, an amazing transformation occurs.
Eric is Bananaman, ever alert for the call to action

George. Clunky. Can't shorten it. Royalist.

Julian. Julie. 1970s.

Eric is Bananaman.

Luke. Look. Book. (Not great in certain NW accents).

Nicholas or Thomas for me.

Eric is good.

Don’t love Nicholas, but like nicknames Nico, or Nicky.

Thomas sounds wet to my ears, Tom is effortless though.

Eric for the win

@ThatLilacExpert I can totally sympathise with you, as while I’m obsessed with names and love lots of different style ones (including some really “out there” ones! 🤣) ;I found making such a big decision for the most important person in my life ❤️ surprisingly stressful- to the point that once he was born I didn’t even tell anyone his name for over a month in case I changed my mind!

In the end I decided to make it easier/less stressful for myself by choosing a very classic/timeless but popular name. My reasoning was:

-if it’s popular then it follows that most people will like the sound of it and most will know how to say and spell it (and as a bonus he can get tat in the shops with his name on, many kids seem to love that). Some people worry about names being too popular but there’s such a wide spread of different names now compared to even 20/30 years ago that imo it’s just very bad luck if there’s two in a class today.

-If it’s timeless then no one is going to be able to guess his age or social background, which could be a real bonus as he gets older and is applying for jobs for example. There’s also no risk of trendiness and of being the Karen/Kevin/Barry/Tracey of the future (or whatever the joke name😢 is then).

-I also chose one with a readily obvious nickname or two, that he can choose to go by in future if he doesn’t like it (I also gave DS two middle names so he has even more options to choose from 🤣) .It made me feel better about making such a big decision when he couldn’t tell me what he thinks yet and I had no idea of his personality (eg. extrovert vs introvert etc).

While all your choices are fairly classic, I would say that only Thomas meets all my own criteria (the others are either not as timeless or not that popular or have no obvious nn in the case of George and Luke), so obviously Thomas would be the one I’d pick!

I like all of your names. Any man called those names would have a handsome name.

From your list I best like ..
Nicholas, Thomas and George.

If the boy is born around Christmas it would be lovely to use Nicholas (or Christopher).

Which name sounds best when said aloud with the surname?

George - safe choice, good enough for a prince...
Julian - dreadful and will be Jules
Nicholas and Thomas - both fine, but will be Nick or Tom, both of which I like. Or they could be Nico and Tommy.
Eric- like it
Luke - it's from the New Testament so if that's a bit modern for you look at the Old Testament. Luca and Lucas are currently popular, but Luke is more classic.

I’ve decided to pick three names from these lists, take them to the hospital, and make the final choice on the day. Such a great idea—thank you! X

You'll have 6 weeks to register the baby after he's born. Don't rush it.
When he arrives, he might not look like any of the names, and you might decide that he looks like a Balonz or a Ziggy-Dude. That will probably be hormones.

(You can also register a baby without a name, and add the name later)

Best wishes for the birth and your future.